Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria (Gran Canary)

Once a volcanic island, one of the 7 Canary Islands, just among three continents; Europe, Africa and America in the Atlantic Ocean, Gran Canary is a unique island.

The transparency and the color of the ocean, the forests, the caves, the mountains, and may be the most important thing: "the temperature" is awesome. A unique island with the stable temperature. The yearly average is 25C. Thus, you can swim almost all around the year. In a cold November day of Europe it can be a good place to get sun bath and swim.

Beside the natural beauties, get ready to be surprised with the very cheap tropical fruits (papaya mango avocado), gems and aloe vera products. Gran Canaria is the central island with the most beautiful beaches. There is a big difference between the north and south in terms of beaches and their weather conditions. South is always sunny and warm almost all the time a while north part is sometimes cloudy and cooler than the south. The inner parts of the island is more rainy and cloudy. The water temperature varies between 18C in winter, and 22C-25C in rest of the year. Also the transparency of the water is a bit different between south and north, the quality of the sand, as well. In some parts as soon as you get in to the ocean you see variates of fishes and plants. Because of this, there are so many underwater photo exhibitions and courses for short period of days. Beside that, diving and snorkel diving courses are available.

The southern part is more popular among tourists while the north is more for native people. The distance betweenPalma de Gran Canaria (Palma de GC) which is at thenorth & also the capital city, and Maspalomas which is the most famous city at the south is 60 kilometers. The famous beach at the south is 10 kms away from Maspalomas, called as Playa de Ingles while the most famous beach at the north is called Playa de Canteras.

Right behind the Playas de Ingles there is a wide area full of sand (dunes) called Las Dunas de Maspalomas.

There are even touristic camel trips in this area. Depending on your taste you may prefer to experience walking in that area or ride to a camel.

The life in Gran Canary, follows a slow rhythm so as soon as you step into the city you feel the rhythm and feel an obligation for the adaptation :) Therefore it is a great place to relax.Another interesting thing is the cultural mixture. You can see Arabs as much as Africans as well as the tourists which are mainly German and English, beside the native people.

The capital city of Las Palmas is also popular among tourists with the cathedral and the old town (El barrio de Vegueta) and shopping zones.

Shopping specially at the north part is pretty cheap (do not forget to bargain). Between north and south the bus number 30 is functioning which takes an hour for a reasonable price. The same bus passes from the Airport of Gran Canary too. Also in order to go to the Palma de GC from the airport take bus number 60.